An elderly man has died following a house fire in Adelaide’s northern suburbs in the early hours of this morning.
Key points:
An 89-year-old man has died in a house fire at Pooraka
Police do not believe the fire was suspicious
They are investigating a separate house fire at St Agnes, which they believe was deliberately lit
Police were called to the home on Nalpa Street in Pooraka just before 1:30am after a neighbor reported sounds of smashing glass.
Police said the home was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived.
Fire crews quickly arrived and extinguished the blaze.
When crews checked the home after the fire, they found the body of an 89-year-old man who police believe to be the occupant.
Police said the incident was not believed to be suspicious.
Fire at St Agnes house
A separate investigation has been underway into a suspicious house fire at St Agnes, in Adelaide’s north-east.
Police and fire crews were called to the house under construction on Kennedy Street around 10:30pm yesterday following reports of a fire.
Fire crews extinguished the blaze, which caused extensive damage to the home.
Police believe the fire was deliberately lit and have asked anyone who saw suspicious activity in the area or has information on the fire to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A suspected child abduction in which a young female student was allegedly dragged down a South Australian primary school corridor by a stranger has sparked a major police investigation.
Police say a man was seen walking into Glenelg Primary School about 10am on Tuesday.
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He was described by police as “behaving suspiciously” on school grounds before leaving the area.
Parents revealed shocking details about the terrifying order to 7NEWS on Wednesday, saying they were told the female Year 4 student was dragged down a school corridor by a man she did not know.
They say the man walked onto the grounds, entered a classroom building and climbed the stairs to the second floor, where he grabbed the girl outside the toilets in front of her friends and teachers.
“(He) had dragged her halfway along (the corridor), which is about where my daughter’s classroom is, and … then he got scared, maybe she was screaming, and then he ran away,” one mum told 7NEWS.
“It’s really horrible to think they got that far in and no one had stopped them. It’s a long way to get into the school.”
Police are investigating claims a man tried to abduct a Year 4 student from Glenelg Primary School. Credit: Facebook / Glenelg Primary School
A friend of the victim said the man had looked at the girl under a toilet stall door and took photos of her before she ran screaming, The Adelaide Advertiser reports.
“He came into the school building, he was looking at her, taking photos of her under the door when she was in the toilets,” Seva, 11, told the newspaper.
“She screamed, and then she ran out and the man started chasing her up the stairs.
“Everyone in my class is scared. I don’t really feel safe at the school anymore, because I’m afraid it might happen to me.”
The claims have left parents shaken, with another concerned mum telling 7NEWS “it’s madness”.
“I think it’s terrifying, I can’t believe it happened,” she said.
“What that child went through must have been devastating,” another said.
“(I felt) scared for the children, you want it to be a safe place when they come to school.”
Parents say the man made his way inside a school building, up to the second floor when he tried to grab the girl. Credit: 7NEWS
Police were called to the school about 10am, but by the time they arrived no suspect could be found.
The man is described as being about 180cm tall, bald and was wearing a knee-length light blue shirt, black pants, a black face mask and was carrying a beanie.
Parents claim they were left in the dark about the terrifying order.
“I heard nothing, they just said there was an incident and that was it,” one told 7NEWS.
A letter was sent to parents stating police were investigating an incident on school grounds but made no mention of an abduction attempt.
The school principal declined an interview request by 7NEWS, but said the student involved and her family have been offered support.
Government spokesman Tom Koutsantonis said the claims were “terrifying”.
“We will make sure police have all the resources they need to investigate and get to the bottom of this,” he said on Wednesday.
Anyone who may have seen a man matching the description, or has dashcam footage near the Diagonal Road school, is urged to contact police.
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Olivia Newton-John’s daughter shares first message.
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An Adelaide massage therapist charged with sexually assaulting two female clients indecently recorded up to 200 other women at a beachside clinic, a court has heard.
Key points:
The 35-year-old man has been charged with sexually assaulting two clients at his massage clinic
Police say they have taken statements from a further 13 women and found more than 700 images on his phone
He has been refused home detention bail
The 35-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court charged with seven sexual offenses against two alleged victims at the clinic in Adelaide’s western suburbs.
He today applied for home detention bail on the grounds he was not a risk to the community and would not flee the country.
But prosecutors opposed bail, saying the “sheer number” of potential victims was substantial and police had taken statements from a further 13 women.
Magistrate Paul Foley heard that 10 of those victims had made a complaint of indecent assault and three of those would be coupled with an indecent filming charge.
The court heard there were a further three victims of indecent filming.
Prosecutors told the court police had identified 721 indecent images on the man’s phone that related to between 150 and 200 women — many of whom were face-down on the massage table in various stages of undress.
“The offending appears to be extremely widespread and obviously serious,” prosecutor Brevet Sergeant Nicholas Fatchen said.
Marie Shaw QC, appearing for the man, submitted most of the allegations against her client were for indecent filming – a charge considered a less serious criminal offence.
She said he had the presumption in favor of bail, could be tracked electronically, could work from home selling solar parts and was not a flight risk.
Home detention bail denied
“He’s a 35-year-old man with no previous convictions … he’s never been in prison before,” Ms Shaw said.
“There’s no basis to suggest he would reoffend and there’s no basis to suggest he’s a flight risk.”
Ms Shaw added it would take three years before the case could be finalized at trial.
But the prosecutor said the charges were serious, as the man faced three rape charges, which would attract a prison sentence if guilty.
He said the prosecution had a strong case against the man and feared he would flee back to his home country as he was not an Australian citizen.
“He has a very strong incentive to flee,” he submitted to the court.
He also said if the man was given a “pass out” from home detention bail, he could run into potential victims, given the sheer number of them.
“There’s a significant risk he would run into various victims. I’m not suggesting he would seek them out, but the safety and protection of the victims is paramount,” he said.
Magistrate Foley denied the man’s home detention bail, saying the charges were too serious.
The death of a seven-year-old in South Australia is being investigated as a case of possible criminal neglect.
SA Police detective superintendent Des Bray said Craigmore boy Makai was taken to Lyell McEwin Hospital “very sick” on February 10 and was then transferred to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where he died later that day.
Task Force Prime, which was set up after the death of six-year-old Charlie, is now investigating whether the boy’s death was a case of criminal neglect.
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Investigators are also examining the care of his five siblings, aged between seven and 16.
Bray said a post-mortem examination following Makai’s death revealed several serious health issues.
He said the provisional cause of death was unusual, but was not a cause for immediate concern.
“The cause of death in itself wasn’t enough to raise concern because it was a serious, recognized health issue,” Bray said, adding that a coronial investigation was launched following the death.
About 10 days after Makai’s death, a coronial direction obtained information from “various child protection authorities”, which was then passed on to SA Police in July.
“Soon after, investigators began reviewing volumes of material and obtained an opinion from a pediatric expert,” he said.
“They formed the view that sufficient grounds existed to commence a criminal investigation of criminal neglect causing death.”
Bray said an interim cause of death had been determined but declined to comment further.
Superintendent Des Bray speaking to media. Credit: DAVID MARIUZ/AAPIMAGE
Investigators will determine whether anyone was guilty for Makai’s death or the neglect of the other siblings, Bray said.
Makai and his siblings had been staying in their father’s care since November 2020. Their mother was not living with him at the time of his death.
“There is neglect and abuse which we believe has occurred over a period of time but it doesn’t have all the same characteristics of Charlie’s,” Bray said.
Charlie was found unresponsive in her family home in Munno Para on July 15 and died in Lyell McEwin Hospital, sparking a police investigation into suspected neglect.
searching for answers
Following Charlie’s death, the state government ordered a review of the interactions between government agencies and the family in recent years.
Premier Peter Malinauskas on Monday announced a new wholly independent review would now investigate these interactions for both families.
“The death of any child is something that breaks all of our hearts, particularly parents across the state,” he told reporters.
“One was shocking, two is desperately heartbreaking.
“There is absolutely merit given the elevation of this for a wholly independent led review.”
Premier Peter Malinauskas said a new wholly independent review would now investigate the interactions between government agencies and the families. Credit: AAP
Malinauskas said he was “not wasting any time” and had appointed former SA police commissioner Mal Hyde to lead the review as “someone every South Australian has complete confidence in”.
“This is about making sure we have a review of integrity, of independence and robustness so we fully understand exactly what interactions occurred between government agencies and these families and to see whether or not there were any failures of systems that could be addressed,” he said.
“Two innocent children losing their lives potentially because of criminal neglect is beyond sad. But we know about it and we have to respond.”
Malinauskas said the findings of the review would be made public.
Bray said criminal neglect occurred when a person with a duty of care to a child failed to take all reasonable steps to protect them from harm, and a child is harmed or dies as a result of that neglect.
